EMERGING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Portfolio Reviews at Palm Springs Photo Festival Part 1

November 16, 2012

David J. Carol

&COPY;IRA JESSE PFEFFER

I'm always interested in looking at great photography, who isn't? Last month I was lucky enough to be asked to review work at The Palm Springs Photo Festival during PhotoPlus in New York City. Its such a great way to meet interesting and talented artists. Over the next month I'm going to highlight the work of a few of these people.

So, lets get things rolling here with the work of Ira Jesse Pfeffer. Ira showed me a series of photographs he took of fighters. Wow, some great work!! I instantly though this is a perfect example of what Emerging Photographer is all about. So I asked Ira to tell me a little bit about what he’s doing, here’s what he had to say:

“I've been shooting this fighter series for over the past two years and as you can see it's a very personal series and I'm strongly attached to it. I began getting backstage access around two years ago and that's when I first became engrossed in the world of Mixed Martial Arts, Kick-boxing, and Boxing. As the majority of these portraits are of amateur fighters, these images on the whole, are a visceral tribute to the blue-collared weekend warrior who by far makes up the majority of the fighters. I'm engaged in the "truth" behind the images as a rare glimpse behind the scenes of what is frequently considered a trio of often bloody and brutal sports. I'm trying to show the viewer the fierce reality and beauty behind the pain and exhaustion of defeat, alongside the supreme glory and exhilaration of victory. I'm attempting to create images where the relationship between art and sport is not so easily defined and the only thing left behind is the nascent dialogue between the subject and the viewer. I'm trying to establish a place where raw emotion and a connection with the image is established. The fighters face, blood, sweat and tears are the only context distinguishing the fighters world from our own. “ Check out more of Ira's work at www.irajessepfeffer.com.